In 2012 Rob Goddard took the lift to the top of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest building in the world, so that he could throw himself off. Stress, anxiety and loneliness had taken its toll on Rob and he even wrote a ‘death diary’ – something to leave behind after he killed himself so that his loved ones – particularly his four children.

At the top he reached for the door to the outside fire escape. It was locked. That locked door became not only his life saver but an image he has held onto for the rest of his life. If it wasn’t for the locked door he never would have experienced all of the wonderful things that have happened to him since – a very successful business, a renowned speaker about stress and work/life balance, travel, love etc. But a locked door does not cure a person’s desire to kill themselves. The cure for that was his friend Alex, who listened.

The new second edition of Rob’s book Suicide to Success has just been published. The book is expressly to address the issue of male suicide and to encourage men to find someone to talk to about their feelings. All profits from the sale of the book go to a charity that fights male suicide. The book is his way of giving back.

• Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 50 and the second biggest killer of people between 15 and 29.
• Three times more men commit suicide today than women.
• Nearly 6,000 people in the UK die by suicide each year.

Rob Goddard is an internationally-known business adviser, mentor, author and keynote speaker. He works with professionals on a one-to-one basis and runs workshops on personal and business development issues such as ‘How to avoid burnout‘ and ‘How to create more time for the people that matter’. You can find more information about Rob on his website.